After establishing himself in college as one of the most promising athletes in amateur wrestling as a member of the Minnesota Gophers, Shelton Benjamin was snatched up quickly by WWE in the hopes of finding a Kurt Angle for the 21st Century.

On paper, it makes sense, right? Benjamin, like his college teammate, Brock Lesnar, was already a well-known name in the world of athletics due to his success in the Twin Cities, and his grappling experience, when mixed with a charismatic personality, made him seem like a perfect fit for what WWE likes to do. Give him the right gimmick, the right push, and who knows, maybe he could become one of the top performers in the promotion, much like the “Olympic Hero” before him.

A pretty easy way to push the bolder down the hill a little faster? Book him to win a series of matches against Triple H, one of the top performers in the entire promotion who had just finished up his third reign with the World Heavyweight Championship belt.

Sitting down for an interview with his former manager, Angle, as part of his namesake podcast, Benjamin explained why Vince McMahon was so keen on giving him a major push when he arrived on RAW and how his program with the members of Evolution was meant to help him achieve that goal.

“Basically, to fast-track me. I don't think, I don't know because I didn't ask questions, I just did what was asked of me. I do know the term ‘fast track' was used when they were saying I was going to have the match with Hunter,” Shelton Benjamin told Kurt Angle via Fightful. “I think, at the time, they wanted to create a Black star. Today, there is tons of every color of the rainbow in WWE. At the time, there was not. There was me, Mark Henry, Ron Simmons, Truth was still in TNA. There weren't a lot, and I was the new guy, and they wanted to create a Black Superstar. That much, I do know. As far as where the program was going to go, I never knew because it went on for a couple of weeks, and then I got moved to (working with Ric). I thought my first Pay-Per-View match was going to be with Hunter, but it ended up being with Ric.”

Say what you will about Benjamin's initial run in the WWE Universe, but it's hard to argue that his big win over Trips didn't play a big part in establishing him as a massive babyface, a technique promotions have emulated many times since, including when another former Paul Levesque opponent, Chris Jericho, was beaten by Action Andretti in AEW  in December of 2022. Even if the decision was potentially racially motivated, Benjamin made the most of it, which is all that really matters in the end.

Shelton Benjamin reveals that he's still unsure about his future.

Elsewhere in his appearance on The Kurt Angle Show, Shelton Benjamin was asked about his current standing in professional wrestling, as he remains a free agent roughly a month after his 90-day non-compete clause with WWE came to an end.

While Benjamin has no desire to give up professional wrestling at this stage of the game, as, at 48, he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, he isn't quite sure where he wants to land next, assuming he wants to sign with another major promotion at all.

“To be honest, I don't know. I'm still weighing options. I've had a knock on my door here and there. I have no commitments, nothing major to announce aside from a few indie dates and a lot of autograph sessions. I've been taking my time on deciding what I want to do next,” Shelton Benjamin explained via Fightful. “I am at a point in my career where I want to have fun. If it's not worth it, I want to have fun and make money, if it's not worth it, I just don't want to do it. I'm not trying to build a name, I have a name, but I want to be where I'm appreciated and featured and can have some fun. I've never had the Superstar complex where, ‘I have to do this.' No, January 10 marked 24 years in the business for me, and I've been extremely fortunate with injuries and family life that I can still go out and tear it up with the best of them. I'm just not sure where that's going to be at this point. I'm taking temperatures all over the place.”

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, multiple members of the AEW roster have been pushing for Tony Khan to sign Benjamin since before he was released from WWE, an interest that likely hasn't diminished despite the additions of a few new signees like Will Ospreay. Factor in the additions of performers like Nic Nemeth to TNA and Matt Riddle to MLW – neither of which appear to be full-time signings – and it feels like Benjamin will be greeted by some friendly faces wherever he ends up and have key contacts should he have to be the party that initiates contact with his next employer.